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Lincolnville streetscape project advancing but easement consent, funding lag
Summary
City staff said the Martin Luther King Jr. streetscape design is shovel‑ready but cannot move forward until property easements and funding are secured; 26 property notices were mailed and staff reported inconsistent response counts in the meeting record.
Jamie Perkins, the city’s Community Services Director, told the Lincolnville Community Redevelopment Area Steering Committee on Jan. 5 that the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streetscape project is “shovel ready” in design but cannot be built until property easements and project funding are secured.
Perkins said staff sent 26 notices to property owners along the MLK corridor to start conversations about undergrounding overhead utilities and securing associated easements. “We did send out 26 notices. We've received 4 noncommittals, 2 commitments, and 1 property owner that was kind of, on the fence,” she said in the meeting. Perkins later said, “out of the 26, we've only received 5 responses,” language the committee did not reconcile during discussion.
Why it matters: undergrounding utilities would allow the city to widen sidewalks, add ADA access and carry out the project’s streetscape beautification objectives, Perkins said. Easement footprints discussed with property owners include roughly 10-by-10 and 20-by-20 feet parcels; Perkins described reported easement valuations that ranged “maybe around 3,000” on the low end and “22,000” on the high end depending on the site.
Residents raised concerns about locating transformers or switch cabinets on private front yards. One resident asked, “I just wanna see how can you show us what this gonna look like?” Perkins said the city’s landscape architect is working to produce designs and “beautification measures so that we can kind of camouflage those” installations and noted that in some places other utility equipment already sits in front yards.
Perkins said the city is coordinating with Florida Power & Light (FPL) on locates and layout; she described the utility as offering discounted design resources but not assuming the project’s construction costs. She also said staff plan to pursue additional roadway grant opportunities after an earlier grant attempt was denied and that outreach may include door‑to‑door follow up to reach short‑term rental owners or absentee landlords.
What’s next: staff will continue easement outreach, follow up with FPL on relocation or layout options for equipment, pursue grant funding, and return to the CRA and CRA commission with recommendations and budget requests as needed.
